The WHY Behind WHAT We Do
About
Anthony Lue grew up in Ontario, Canada as a standout athlete in track and baseball, on his way to receiving collegiate athletic scholarships. Anthony’s life was abruptly changed forever at the age of twenty-one in September of 2009. He was crushed in an automobile at a scrap metal yard while at work. Anthony’s accident had put him on a different road in life, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he loved, which was competing and making the most of his new lease on life.
Anthony now had to consider what he wanted to accomplish in his career and how to overcome accessibility barriers in many environments and in people’s perceptions. He was fortunate enough to have a lot of people in his life that cared about him, whether they were friends or family. Anthony began speaking to high school students, adult groups, and anyone else who was interested in hearing his experience and what he had to say. “Everything just kind of snowballed from there,” Anthony says. As a natural progression from athletics, he began handcycling. Anthony later discovered that handcycling helped him fill a need in his life.
Things got very serious for Anthony after he began handcycling. He’s been riding for almost 8 years now and hasn’t looked back. Anthony is a student at the University of Arizona, where he is studying Rehabilitation Management and competing in their handcycling program. He is hopeful to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympics in handcycling. With his field of study, he is most interested in finding ways to make our world more accessible. Anthony states, “There are so many people that struggle in silence because they don’t have a voice on a daily basis. Instead of allowing these issues to be brushed under the rug, I’d like to have some kind of platform to bring them to light.” One of his long-term goals is to raise accessibility awareness to the forefront of many people’s minds.
When not riding his handcycle, Anthony uses a manual wheelchair paired with the Alber™ SMOOV® one power assist. Anthony uses the SMOOV one power assist to his daily advantage when riding across campus or in environments that were previously inaccessible to him. He states “It’s great when I’m out with my girlfriend for a stroll or moving at a slower pace with other people. The SMOOV one is quite supportive.”
What’s your go-to comfort food?
I love breakfast, but there’s nothing more I love than burgers. I thoroughly enjoy waiting for In-N-Out Burger.
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I’m a gear head and love anything that has to do with cars. In fact, over the past couple years, I built my own race car.
Working with cars is one of the hobbies besides handcycling that I love to do on a daily basis.
Aside from cars, I also enjoy doing photography, and videography.
What kind of music do you listen to when getting hyped for a race?
There’s a lot of everything. A lot of Southern, Toronto and West Coast vibes. I love old school hip-hop artists including:
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Cube, and Lil Jon. I also love R&B when relaxing at night.
Are there any books that have impacted your life?
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is an amazing book that changed my life.
Hearing his story touched me because it was something I could relate to.
Think and Grow Rich, 48 Laws of Power, and How Bad Do You Want It? are also some of my other favorites.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Using my handcycle, I climbed Mount Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona, a mountain with an elevation of 9,171 feet.
Climbing that mountain allowed me to physically and mentally go places I never thought I could and I learned a lot about myself in the process.
What’s included on your bucket list?
I’d like to go skydiving and also take a flight in a RedBull stunt plane.
As a car enthusiast, I’d like to drive on the Autobahn in Germany and attend as many racing rallies as possible.
Traveling around the world and seeing everything it has to offer is also very important to me.
A Personal Message from Anthony to the Invacare Family
Learn More about Anthony Lue
To learn more about Anthony and his story visit
https://anthonylue.com/
Anthony’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQSnLXMKSnmCinyvfLkZ_Eg
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